‘Beauty and the Beast’ Live-Action Remake Debuts Teaser with First Look at Emma Watson as Belle; Disney Profits Largely from Adaptations

‘Beauty and the Beast’ live-action adaptation remake recently debuted its first ever teaser for the film starring Emma Watson as Belle. Disney has a long line of upcoming remakes in the next few years including ‘Little Mermaid’ and ‘Cruella De Vil’. The studio profits largely from these adaptations as shown in official box office earnings for past theatrical releases.

According to Heavy, Disney’s much-awaited live-action adaptation of the classic animated film of the same name finally dropped its first U.S. teaser on ‘Good Morning America’ ahead of its scheduled premiere in March 2017.

The teaser didn’t show much of its characters but instead took audiences to Beast’s famous castle dwelling. It featured various shots of the dark castle in disrepair – from dusty ballrooms to cobwebbed stairwells. By the end of the teaser, Watson’s Belle is finally revealed as she enters the castle and reaches for the infamous rose.

The upcoming film is part of the lineup of Disney’s animated classics translated into live-action full-feature films. Other remakes include ‘Little Mermaid’ starring Chloe Grace Moretz, 101 Dalmatian’s ‘Cruella De Vil’ starring Emma Stone, and ‘Mary Poppins’ starring Emily Blunt. It seems that Disney is attempting to draw on nostalgia as a formula to future box office success by recycling classic material for the reinvigoration of their fairytale franchise.

According to Forbes, the studio’s past theatrical releases proved to be quite successful at the box office. For example, Kenneth Branagh’s ‘Cinderella’ earned $543.5 worldwide against a relatively humble $95 million budget. Robert Stromberg’s ‘Maleficent’ pulled in $758.5 million against a $180 million budget while Tim Burton’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’ earned $1.025 billion against a $200 million budget.

‘Beauty and the Beast’ is an upcoming fantasy-adventure and musical film starring Emma Watson as Belle, Dan Stevens as Beast, and Luke Evans as Gaston. It also features the voices of Emma Thompson, Ewan McGregor, Stanley Tucci, and Ian McKellen.

It is directed by Ben Condon and produced under Walt Disney Pictures and Mandeville Films. Don Hahn, David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman are producing with Steve Gaub, Greg Yolen, and Jack Morrissey co-producing. Jeffrey Silver is serving as executive producer.

It is scheduled to be released on March 17, 2017.